About The Founder
My name is Cheryl Johnson Caldwell and I was born in Beloit, Wisconsin in 1955. I am the fourth generation of my family to live and be raised in Beloit. Many of my family’s ancestral roots can be traced back to the year 1916, as they were a part of the great migration to Beloit. My grandmother wrote in her journal notes that a relative encouraged her father to move north to Wisconsin because it was “God’s country.” Her family arrived in Beloit, April 1, 1921. My family roots run deep in the African American history of Beloit so I am extremely proud to embark on this meaningful journey.
My inspiration for establishing the African American Historical Society of Beloit goes back to the year 2010. I was researching the history of Beloit for a documentary that my husband and I were producing entitled, Through Their Eyes, The History of African Americans in Beloit, Wisconsin From 1836-1970. I realized the lack of recorded and written information on hand at the Beloit Public Library and the Beloit Historical Society. I found the history books on Beloit and Rock County to be thoroughly written but had very little information on African Americans.
It left me wondering where could I find the history on Beloit”s African Americans, the people, churches, civic leaders, business owners, educators, sport stars, social clubs, trailblazers and politicians? Why wasn’t it important to include more of the history of African Americans in these books and publications?
The Book of Beloit Vol. 1, a history book written on Beloit, Wisconsin was published in 1936, by the Beloit Daily News, covers the history of Beloit from 1836-1936. It had very little information on African Americans, although they had been recorded living in Beloit by 1836. In contrast you’ll find information on Italians, Greeks, Irish, French and Norwegians who were “pioneers” that came to Beloit were covered adequately.
The Book of Beloit Vol. II, however, also published by the Beloit Daily News in 1986, included a well-written section on African-Americans, entitled, “In Search of Freedom,” written by Tom Polaski. After the completion and debut of our documentary in June 2011, I realized, even more so, that the recorded history of Beloit cannot exclude the rich history of African Americans and their contributions. We played a significant and integral role in the shaping of not only our African American community but also the city as a whole. I have always envisioned the need for someone to establish an organization that would increase the visibility of our rich history that exists here in Beloit. I finally asked myself “If not me, then who? If not now, then when?”
There is still a lot of Beloit’s African American history to be told; it just has to be unearthed, researched, shared and documented. There are current and former residents of Beloit that can provide a first hand account of our community’s early history, unfortunately they are aging and their memories are starting to fade. If we don’t take the time and address the need to tap into them as a resource we will lose valuable information. This would be a great tragedy!
I believe through a collaborative effort, dedication and participation, as a whole, we can embrace a renewed sense of pride and an unwavering determination to never forget where we’ve come from and what those before us had to overcome.
Let the journey begin!